“Where’s Ella?” Adrian looked up when Cope came in through his front door.

“Hi, Cope. How’s it going? I’m great, Adrian, and how are you?”

“She’s pretty and has a great body. You’re a pain in my ass.”

“Just remember, she’s my girlfriend, dickhead. As it happens, I’m picking her up in an hour and taking her to the coast. We’ll be back Sunday afternoon.”

Laughing, Adrian led him back down to his home office, which included his recording studio.

Cope tossed a file folder on the tabletop. “I wanted to drop this by on my way out of town. These are all the plans for your tour security. The label people have finally accepted we’re doing it each time, so the process was far easier. I briefed Jeremy on the phone earlier today. He’ll hold off faxing the info to the label until you approve it. Want a rundown?”

“I really want to postpone all this, is what I want.” Adrian shoved his hands through his hair.

“Worried about Erin? Your first show isn’t until mid-January.”

“I want to be around for my niece or nephew, you know? Don’t pretend you don’t feel the same way. She’s my sister, and I’ve been around for all the big moments in her life. It’s going to be hard for her sometimes. You know, thinking about Adele and all.” Pain shadowed Adrian’s features for a few brief moments. “She’ll need me. Need everyone in her life to help.”

“She will, Adrian. She’s got Todd and Ben. My mom and Todd’s mom. She’s got me, Brody, Elise, Raven, Ella. And you’re f**king loaded, if you recall. Just fly back as much as you can. You and I both know she’d hate it if she knew you postponed a tour for her.”

“It’s more than that. I don’t want to miss this. I want to be around for the baby. Adele was such a joyous part of my life. This baby should be too.”

Cope sat back and gave Adrian a close look. “Do you want me to talk you into it or out of it?”

Adrian looked up, startled, and then he laughed. “That’s the question. Too bad I don’t know the answer. I don’t want to miss this stuff. The first smiles, rolling over, sitting up. These are things that happen in those early months, and I’ll be on a stage in some other state.”

“True. You can video call and conference. She can get it all on video for you. Ben and Todd have both purchased swanky new cameras, and Erin’s office has some great tech, so you can webcam each other. It’s not perfect, but even if you don’t trust Todd and Ben all the way, you have to know Brody will watch her like a hawk. She’s got plenty of people who’ll protect her and the baby.”

“Sure. Of course Brody will, because that’s what he does. So what does that make me?” Yeah, yeah, he was a bit morose. So what? He was in indie rocker; it came with the territory, right? But damn, Brody was a hard act to follow, and Cope understood that better than Adrian might think.

“The baby brother of a man like Brody. Course, it doesn’t hurt that you’re a rock star and stuff. I don’t have a music career. Just Ben for a big brother. The man who is good at everything. I know what it’s like to have a big brother who everyone looks up to.”

“I feel ungrateful. I love Brody. He’s more my dad than my brother, and he deserves all the accolades he receives. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him.”

“Sure. Doesn’t make being in someone’s shadow totally easy to bear, though. And it doesn’t make you ungrateful. Can you cut the tour down? Do fewer cities?”

“No.” He sighed. “This shit has been in place for months now. The dates are set, the venues are booked and publicity is already in place. There’s all this stuff in my contract holding me to tour dates, and I get why.”

“It’s three months. Twelve weeks. You can do it. The more records you sell, the better it is for your career.”

“After this, I’m not touring for a while. Everything I want and need is here at home. If I sell well now, I can take off a year or so. I’ve wanted to for a while now. It’s only a matter of time before Elise gets pregnant, and I want to be here for that too.”

“You’ve got TBC Security protecting you, no matter what you decide.” Cope indicated the file folder. “And you’ve got me and the rest of your friends behind you.”

“Thanks, man. It means a lot to me. So, back to your girlfriend. How are things?”

“Good. She’s good. We’re good. It’s early days. A week now, since that first date. I’m taking her to the coast. One of my friends has a house right on the sand, terrific view, fully stocked kitchen. Two days, just us. I think it should be good. I like her. She likes me.” Cope shrugged, but his grin canceled out any nonchalance he’d been going for.

“Tell me what it is about her.” Adrian leaned back to grab a bottle of juice, tossing it to Cope.

“The very first time I went into the café, years and years ago, she made me a latte. It was her eyes that day. And then the freckles. She was different then. I don’t know if you remember or not. But she was more upbeat, vibrant, outgoing. And slowly over the years it dimmed until she kicked him out. Then I thought maybe it was possible to ask her out. And then there was the attack, and she had to have the time and space to get her shit together. To get her life back.”

“I’ve seen how you look at her. Watched you watching her for years now. To be totally honest with you, it’s one of the reasons I haven’t made a move myself. How long have you crushed on her?” Cope’s gaze sharpened, and Adrian snorted a laugh. “Surprise, dude, your girl is hot. Ella is something special. Do you think no one but you noticed?”